Handel's oratorios were once a no-go area for opera directors; now they pose an irresistible challenge. The story of Susanna and the Elders – from the apocryphal Book of Daniel – is essentially about rape, famously painted by Rembrandt, Rubens and, perhaps most powerfully, by Artemisia Gentileschi, herself violated as a young woman. Pia Furtado's production for Iford Festival Opera is set in a present-day, puritanical, rural religious community. The violent menace of the two elders of the sect and Susanna's terror seem all the more palpable for the sense of claustrophobia created in Iford's tiny cloistered space.

The hypocrisy and subjugation of the womenfolk emerges horribly well, even if the repertoire of meaningful and furtive looks is perilously stretched early on. Religious ritual, too, is carefully tailored to the music, underlining the predatory elders' pervy vanity and their appalling complicity. An insidious atmosphere, fuelled by Amish references and elements of witchcraft, makes all the more plausible the trial scene in which Susanna is falsely charged with adultery. Overtones of Salem are manifest.

Ciara Hendrick gives a deeply sensitive portrayal of Susanna, her singing always controlled, even when pushed to the limit by the Furtado; as Susanna's husband, Joachim, countertenor Christopher Lowrey is also strong, though his acting is more gauche. The lovely bloom of Daisy Brown's soprano rang out, adding a bright aura to Daniel's appearances in what was inevitably a slightly sombre evening. Conductor Christian Curnyn expertly maximises the drama of Handel's score with the minimum of fuss.